Giving Advice
by Kristen3
Summary: An AU take on "Undercover Lovers." While on stakeout with Bob overnight, Joy begins to see another side of Bob, and has a very unexpected heart-to-heart with him. One-shot. Rating is for minor adult content.


**Author's Note: **"Undercover Lovers" was one of my favorite episodes so far this season. I don't think I realized how much I loved Dave Foley, or his chemistry w/ Jane on the show till I saw that they were writing him out. I felt like this scene between them could've gone another way, and so this resulted. It's a bit of fluff that just wouldn't go away. Please do R&R! :D

Joy could hardly believe she was here, in a hotel room with Bob. Sure, they were there on business, but he kept trying to turn it into something else. For so long, she'd dealt with his unwanted advances and crude jokes. But now, she was seeing another side to him. Apparently, underneath all of that, Bob actually was a decent guy. Joy saw a glimpse of it just now, when he'd made fun of her Russian accent. Despite herself, Joy found herself laughing at him.

"So, what about you, Joy? Anyone special in your life at the moment?"

Bob's question suddenly turned the mood much more serious. "Not really," Joy said with a sigh. "I thought I was close there for a while, but it didn't work out."

"What happened?" Bob asked.

"Well, the short version is that he took a job overseas. He says he's going to come back, but God knows when that will be."

"What's the long version?" Bob could tell that she was really hurting, and so for once, he resisted the urge to use the moment to try to win her over as usual.

"He was my boyfriend when we were teenagers, but we reconnected last year. We discovered all the old feelings are still there. He was a tabloid reporter. Then I found out he was going to do a story on my friend Victoria. I threatened to break up with him. Somehow he realized then that chasing after celebrities wasn't enough anymore."

"You made a man give up his career for you?" Bob asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes. And spare me your speech about how you'd give up the agency for me."

"I wasn't going to do that."

"Well, good. Because I said nothing was going to happen between us tonight, and I meant it."

Bob couldn't help feeling the familiar sting of her words. Joy had rejected him so many times in the past, you would think it would become routine. Especially given that he had a girlfriend waiting for him in Canada. But even so, it hurt to be constantly pushed away. "I'm really sorry he left you," Bob said, when the silence had gone on for a few moments.

"I am, too." Joy sighed. "It is pretty typical of my life, though. Just when things start looking up, something happens, and I'm left all alone."

"Well, he said he'd come back. That's something, right?"

Joy rolled her eyes. "You know how many guys have told me that before? Including Simon?"

"I'm sorry," was all Bob could think of to say.

"It's all right," Joy said. "My friend Melanie keeps telling me not to give up hope. That maybe Simon is my true love. I think she's just watched one too many romantic movies."

"You never know, Melanie could be right. Or your true love could be even closer than you think." Bob winked at her. He knew it was wrong to say something like that, but he couldn't help it. Old habits die hard.

"Nothing is going to happen," Joy repeated, more forcefully.

"I'm sorry. That was wrong. I shouldn't be doing something like this to you, or to Canadian Joy."

"Why can't you just admit it, there is no Canadian Joy?"

"Is it so hard to imagine that a woman could find me attractive, Joy?" Once again, Bob grinned at her.

Joy's first instinct was to say no. But just moments ago, she'd been laughing with him, and she supposed that was a sign of something, at the very least. "So you really do have a girlfriend, then?"

Bob nodded. "But we have an understanding. It gets very cold and lonely up there in Canada. So, when I'm down here, we're both free to...pursue other interests." He couldn't resist giving Joy his usual sly grin.

"You gave me a bit of advice, so now I'm going to give you some," Joy said. She found that she liked this Bob, the one underneath all of his constant comments and innuendos. "Maybe your girlfriend deserves more than that."

"You mean I should give up all of the women here in Cleveland? Do you realize what that means?"

Joy rolled her eyes. There couldn't be nearly as many women here who'd find him attractive as he thought. "Maybe you deserve more, too."

Bob thought about that. For so long, he'd been trying to pursue someone who clearly wasn't interested. There was some secret thrill in seeing if he could win her over. But that meant he spent a lot of nights alone. Having a girlfriend in another country didn't amount to much if she wasn't physically there. "Maybe you're right. But do you really think I can do it? Be a one-woman man?"

"I think you could do anything you put your mind to."

"I don't know, Joy. It's an awful lot to ask. It won't be easy."

Joy sighed. "When I moved here from LA, I thought I'd never get used to it. Cleveland is about as far from Hollywood as you can get. But my friends and I stuck with it. It hasn't always been easy, but we've found some good things here. We never would've done that if we hadn't taken a chance."

"Wow," Bob said. "Both gorgeous _and_ smart. You're quite a woman, Joy. And Simon must be special, too. After all, you're giving up a chance to sleep with me, 'cause you're still not over him."

"Yes, _that's_ why I wouldn't sleep with you," Joy said sarcastically. "Can we please just go to sleep now?"

"If that's what you want," Bob said, turning out the lamp next to their bed.

"It is," Joy said. It was strange to think, she'd just had a heart-to-heart with Bob. It certainly wasn't what she would've expected would happen tonight. But then, if there was one thing she'd learned since moving to Cleveland, it was that life always had a way of surprising her.

**The End**


End file.
